State of Ohio sets record with four teams in NCAA Sweet 16

If you want to gauge the state of basketball, check out the state of Ohio. For at least this week, the Buckeye State will be the center of the college basketball world.

Ohio becomes the first state with four schools in the Division I men's Sweet 16, according to the NCAA. The research dates to 1985 when the bracket was expanded and every team needed to win twice to reach the regional semifinals.

Cincinnati, seeded sixth in the East, became the fourth team from the state to advance when just after midnight Sunday ET, the Bearcats knocked off East No. 3 seed Florida State. The Bearcats join Xavier (10th seed in the South), Ohio University (13 seed in the Midwest) and Ohio State (second seed in the East) for round of 16 play Thursday and Friday.

Though unlikely, it's possible for Cincinnati and Xavier, heated cross-town rivals who engaged in an ugly brawl earlier this season, to meet for the national championship in New Orleans on April 2.

Four states have had three teams in the Sweet 16:

North Carolina – 1986, 1989, 2005

Kentucky – 1993

California – 1997, 2001

Tennessee – 2007

As for Ohio, it touches on three other states with teams in the Sweet 16: Kentucky (Kentucky, Louisville), Indiana (Indiana) and Michigan (Michigan State), putting half the field in a relatively small area.

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